


Ode to the Thunderstorm

by QueenPotema



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:47:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25197190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenPotema/pseuds/QueenPotema
Summary: Izuna has a very bad night that Tobirama helps him through. They both learn a little something about themselves and each other and Izuna's very bad night becomes one of his favorite nights so far.Or, I am at a very sad place in all my other fics, so I wrote this one to cheer myself up and I'm posting it before I get the chance to hate it.
Relationships: Senju Tobirama/Uchiha Izuna
Comments: 8
Kudos: 148





	Ode to the Thunderstorm

**Author's Note:**

> There is a rather graphically described panic attack in this, read with caution. Its fluffy though, I swear! I needed the fluff.

The first clap of thunder awakens Izuna from his pleasant doze. The second, right on the heels of the first, sends him rolling off his bed and onto the ground from shock.

He is on his way to his brother's room when he belatedly remembers that Madara is not in the village. He is on a mission with the Tree Stump, and he won't be back tonight. A third booming round of thunder rolls through the sky, as is to mock Izuna for his stupidity.

He cowers in the hallway of the empty house and tries to calm himself down with mantras of, 'It can't hurt me, it's just a storm, I am a shinobi and an adult, it is not going to hurt me, there is nothing to be afraid of.' This does very little to help, especially when the storm's violent noises and turbulence only get louder with less time in between.

Izuna curses himself for being weak, but he can't get his fear under control alone. If it was daytime, he would be fine, but of course this storm had to come at night, and of course he had not even bothered to pay attention to whether there would be one or not and he hadn't even been able to brace himself for it.

Desperately, Izuna runs through the list of people he knows in his head. Hikaku would help him when they were younger, and Madara was gone for whatever reason, but Hikaku had a kid now that was probably already cuddled between him and his wife in bed. He is not exactly close enough with anyone else in his clan to just waltz into their house and ask them to cuddle with him until the storm blows over. So none of them. He has a few friends outside of his clan members (at Madara's insistence) but he still wouldn't necessarily want them to see him like this.

A particularly violent blast of thunder seems to shake the very ground under Izuna, and his panic and anxiety reach new heights. His chest is constricted, he can't breathe, he can't calm himself down, and he can't afford to be picky about who he goes to for help. He reaches out his senses for the nearest familiar chakra that seems awake and makes a beeline towards it. He doesn't even bother to use the door once the arrives at the building housing the chakra, he just wrenches open a window and let's himself in.

"What the- Izuna!" A voice somewhere in between enraged and confounded exclaims, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Storm," is all Izuna manages to reply before the very rude storm cuts him off with an intense lightning strike. If possible his chest clenches even tighter and the only air he can get comes in short quick bursts as he huddles under the windowsill with his hands over his head.

Izuna is distantly aware of someone coming closer to him, "Calm down. You're having a panic attack. Breathe slowly."

Easy for you to say, Izuna wants to tell his companion/victim. As it is, he can't even seem to follow the advice to get his breathing under control.

"Oh for the love of- What does Madara do when-" a deep breath interrupts the mumbling before two firm hands pry Izuna's arms away from his head, "Look at me."

Izuna does not immediately understand what the voice wants him to do.

"Uchiha! Look at me!"

He snaps his head up and meets red eyes with snow white hair falling around them.

"Good. Tell me the hand signs for the fireball jutsu."

"Hand signs?" Izuna asks in a strangled voice.

"Yes. For the Fireball jutsu. I should know it's one of your favorites, so I know you have them memorized." the other man, Tobirama as Izuna's memory finally supplies (he feels like he should be embarrassed for some reason but his mind hasn't quite caught up as to why), says.

"Fireball," Izuna repeats, and Tobirama is right he does know the answer, it's right on the tip of his tongue, "Uhm... Horse. Then tiger, snake, ram, monkey, boar, and horse and tiger again."

Tobirama nods, "Deep breaths. Calm down."

This time, Izuna manages to comply and eventually calms down to the point that he remembers why this is probably the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to him. He is in the Hokage's tower of all places, with his sworn rival holding both of his arms hostage and coaching him on hand signs and how to breath like he is a particularly slow child. He is never going to live this down. He feels his cheeks start burning.

"Got ahold of yourself? Gods, your soaked right down to the bone. Why did you come here of all places."

"You were the closest." Izuna mumbles, "It is not my fault you are a workaholic insomniac."

Tobirama raises an unimpressed eyebrow, "Right. Next time, I will just let you pass out from hyperventilating. Go home before you catch cold."

Tobirama is standing from his crouch on the ground when a thunder clap sudden enough to make Izuna yelp shakes the tower. The albino slowly crouches back down.

"Are you afraid of the thunder?" He asks incredulously.

Izuna's cheeks burn even hotter and he can feel his eyes start to burn with tears, and probably the sharingan too. This is so incredibly humiliating.

"No." the younger man growls while crossing his arms over his chest in an attempt to hide his tremors. Why did it have to be Senju Tobirama of all people?

Tobirama sighs, "There is no shame in-"

"I am not afraid of thunder!" Izuna snaps trying to ignore the rumbles over head that are threatening another burst, "Not just thunder anyway. It's... It's the noise. The loud sudden noise. If you are going to make fun of me for it, at least actually know what you are poking fun at!"

"I'm not going to make fun of you for being afraid. Everyone is afraid of something." Tobirama says in a very affronted manner, "But I will ask why you came here when you think so little of me that you believe I would stoop to that level."

"I already told you, you were the closest person who was awake! I was too panicked to recognize you."

The Senju stares at him for a few moments then shrugs, apparently accepting the answer this time, "Well you are calm enough now, so you can find someone else I presume."

Izuna feels an unexplainable rush of panic when the Senju stands up this time. Since he's already humiliated himself, why not continue the pattern? He lunges and grabs a pale hand.

"Wait!"

The albino turns with a questioning gaze.

"I'm... already here. This storm isn't going to let up anytime soon. I might as well stay and help with whatever paperwork you were doing."

"Firstly," Tobirama begins without bothering to free his wrist from Izuna's grip, "I already mentioned you are soaked. You need to dry off before you get sick. Secondly, contrary to popular belief, I do sleep and I was planning to do so tonight."

Izuna internally groans. He definitely is not spending the night alone, and he doesn't want to barge into anyone else's space nearly catatonic. He cringes at the boom that sounds from outside.

"I won't be able to stay calm alone, in the dark..."

"Turn on the lights."

"That's not what I- I meant the night Senju! Hikaku has a family now, Madara's not here, and anyone else would require me to go through this humiliation again!"

Tobirama manages an even more sour face, "Are you asking me to let you sleep at my house?"

"No, I'm asking to be in the same room for the night. I'm fine as long as someone else is there."

Tobirama stares at him for a few seconds before he finally relents, "I don't recall when I started caring about you enough for this to become my problem, but here we are and I apparently do. I am not sure how yet, but I'm certain this is Madara's fault."

Izuna tilts his head at the mumble rant. He has to carefully keep his expression neutral.

"It usually is Aniki's fault," Izuna offers.

"I'm going to dye his hair pink for this. Fine." Tobirama says.

Without any further warning, Tobirama wraps his hand around the one that was still clasped to his wrist and the world twists until their surroundings are totally different. Izuna blinks twice as his mind struggles to catch up.

"Was that the Hiraishin?" Izuna asks.

"Congratulations, you have maintained the one braincell you had. I was worried that it may have been lost to oxygen deprivation, but it seems fate smiled upon you." Tobirama deadpans.

Izuna pulls on his best scowl, "Has anyone ever told you that you are a massive dick?"

"Yes." replies Tobirama as he wrenches free of Izuna's grip and walks to a different room.

Izuna follows close behind, "Recently?"

"You would think someone who wants my help would be a little bit more polite." Tobirama says. He then throws a wad of cloth at Izuna, "Dry off and put those on."

Izuna pouts as Tobirama leaves. Polite he says. As if. He hurries to get dry and clothed as his anxiety creeps back to the surface and then trots to Tobirama's chakra signature.

The man is sitting on the edge of his bed settling his bed clothes when Izuna walks in. 

"So we are sleeping tonight?" Izuna says tentatively.

"Yes. If you trust me enough to share a bed that is. If not, I suppose I can stay up with you, but I will be very annoyed about it."

"No it's fine. If you were going to kill me, you could have done it a hundred times by now." Izuna shrugs as he gets into the bed with his rival and makes himself comfortable, "Besides, my subconscious apparently trusts you more than anyone in my clan."

"Stay on your side of the bed." Tobirama says. He lays down facing Izuna.

"Please, as if I am going to embarrass myself even more by cuddling you," Izuna drawls. He is internally mortified by the fact that he absolutely does want to cuddle the Senju. He blames it on the still raging storm.

"Why are you so embarrassed to be afraid?" Tobirama asks out of the blue.

"It is weakness," Izuna answers immediately, "And what a stupid thing to be afraid of on top of that."

"It is not weak to be afraid, it is human. And there are lots of people who are triggered by loud sounds. It is not stupid." Tobirama says.

Izuna scoffs, "Easy for you to say, you have the higher ground here. I'm the one who crashed into your office cowering from thunder."

The Senju archs an elegant brow, the expression barely visible in the low light, "Is that what it is about? If you want us to be even, I could tell you something illogical that I am afraid of."

"The great Senju Tobirama? Scared of something?" Izuna says petulantly, "This I have to hear."

"Like I said, everyone has fears. One of my greatest fears is silence... or not exactly silence per se, but lack of sensation. I am a very acute sensory shinobi, and even though it is not something that could physically hurt me, having my range lessened or taken away entirely makes me feel unsafe to the point of panic. I also can’t stand it when I can't sense someone I care about. My younger brothers... suffice it to say that I felt the very moment of their deaths. It was... unpleasant. Having people I care about outside my range is almost equally as unpleasant."

Izuna stares into Tobirama's eyes, and finds that his rival is finally staring back without flinching. They have built a lot of trust tonight it seems. It is as if he can finally truly see Tobirama. Izuna takes a deep breath.

"Our brothers are quite a ways off. Were you really planning on sleeping tonight?" Izuna asks armed with the new information.

Tobirama chuckles, "My Anija and Madara both came back into my range an hour or two ago. But no, you are still right, I probably would not have slept very much until I physically put my hands on my brother. He's been out of range for a week now."

"But you are going to sleep now that I'm here?"

"Yes, I feel calm enough now."

"Huh."

"Indeed."

Izuna mulls over his next thought for a few moments before sharing it, "How about we make a deal then? My bed is open anytime you feel too anxious to sleep, if yours is too."

Tobirama makes an exaggerated thoughtful noise, "I have a counter arrangement."

"Really?" 

"Yes."

"Let's hear it then."

Tobirama shifts a bit closer to Izuna (so much for staying on opposite sides of the bed), "You let me court you, and then you can consider my bed always open to you."

"You want to court me?" Izuna squeaks. He inwardly slaps himself for sounding like a schoolgirl before clearing his throat and continuing, "Why? I thought you didn't like me? Hated me even?"

"If I didn't like you, I would have thrown you out of my office after you calmed down enough to take care of yourself. If I hated you, I would not have tried to calm you down at all. I have an unfortunate soft spot for you in truth. We have a lot in common, you and I, but despite that you always challenge me. You keep me on my toes, make me stronger, and better then I would be without you. And you are never boring most importantly."

Izuna finds an uncontrollable smile creep onto his face, "I see. In that case, I want the best date ever. You better totally sweep me off my feet."

"I would not be much of a genius if I could not manage something so simple," Tobirama intones with a smile of his own. 

They close the rest of the distance between them at the same time and a second later their lips meet in a chaste kiss that still manages to make Izuna's toes curl. He has kissed other people before, men and women, but none of them ever tasted as good as Senju Tobirama does. 

"Mission accomplished already." Izuna sighs against Tobirama's lips, "Damn, you are good."

He steals another kiss before settling against Tobirama for the night, thunderstorm all but forgotten.


End file.
